Gear-wheel.



E. J. GUAY. I 'GEAR WHEEL.

DEC 1a 1916 v APPucA V. Nu 1,297,835. Patented Mar. 18,1919.

" ncmmum in ML f x I-m/entoc Em i leJGual tit snares earner on EMILE J. GUAY, 0E LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC I COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

GEAR-WHEEL,

i ,auasaa.

1" '0 all echo/22. it WI (11 concern..-

Be it known that I, EMILE J. GUAY, a citizen" of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gear-Wheels, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to gear wheels which are made from a compressible material, forming a compressible element, held between metallic holders or shroudings, such gear wheels being generally termed noiseless gear wheels. The compressible material may, for example, be spinnable textile fabric, rawhide, cloth, or the like. Such gear wheels are constructed by first making a cylindrical blank, comprising the connn'essible element with the plates or shroudings on each side of it, and then cutting the teeth thereon. With such gear Wheels the edges of the teeth are outlined by the plates or shroudings and I have found that when run in meshwith other gear wheels, as, for example, a gear wheel made of solid metal, the gearing is inclined to be noisy, particularly if the gearwhecls do not mesh accurately.

The object of my present invention is to provide an improved gear wheel or gearing which will overcome the above referred to objection.

For a consideration of what I believe to be novel and my invention, attention is directed to the accompanying description and the claims appended thereto.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 1s a developed plan View of a portion of a. gear wheel embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing a tooth of the gear wheel of F l in mesh with teeth of another gear wheel, and l! 3 is a plan View of a gearing embodying my invention.

in carrying out my invention in connection with a gearing; comprising: a gear wheel of the type'tirst referred to running in mesh with a solid metal gear wheel, I remove a small amount of the radial edges of the teeth oi one of the gear wheels as by cutting or pressing thei'u bac; so that normally the olge of the shroudino does not engage the wheel with which it is in mesh. As obvi ous, this may be done by removingor cutingg' back eitherthe radial edges of the shroudingr itself. or the edges of the teeth of the solid gear wheel. in actual practice I prefer the former arrangement, and it is specification of Letters Patent.

Patented lllar. 18, 329.1%.

Serial no. 137,291.

this arrangement which is illustrated in the drawing.

Referring to the drawing, indicates the compressible element of a noiseless gear wheel, and 6 and T the two shroudings or metallic holding; plates. 8, in Fig. l, indi catcs the surfaces of two teeth, and 9 the space between them. as clear from the drawing, the radial edges of the shroudings, where they outline the teeth, are cut or pressed back, as indicated at 10. By this arrangement only the compressible element 5 of the gear wheel engages the surface of the wheel with which it'meshes. This suits in a very quiet running: gearing. The

amount of the shrouding of the edge of the gear wheel. which is removed may vary but 1 preferably remove but a few tlunisandths of an inch, the amount being less than the flexibility of the tooth portion of the coinpressible element under abnormal load. By this arrangement, in case of abnormal load, the compressible portion of the gear teeth will give, bend or flex slightly so that the edges 01": the shrouds are brought into engagement with the teeth of the meshing gear wheel and help to carry the load. The shrouding thus acts as a safety device under abnormal load.

Fig. 8 shows atrain of gearing, the noiseless gear wheel comprising the compressible element 5 and the shrouding 6 and/Z, being shown in mesh with a solid metal. gear wheellQ. It will be understood, of course, that the invention may be carried out in connection with two or more noiseless gear wheels runningin mesh with each other,

or with various other coinbiimtions.

In accordance with the ;)10Vl$l0l1S of the patent statutes, 1 have described the principle of operation of my intention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof; but 1 desire to-liarc it understood that the ap paratus shown is only illustrative, and that the invention can be carried out by other means.

llhat I claim as new and dcsire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:---

1. A gear wheel comprising; a compressible clement formed entirely of non-me tallie material and held between metallic plates, at small amount of the radial edges oi said plates along; the teeth beingremoved so that such edges are not flush with the surfaces of the main portions of the teeth,

the amount removed being less than that which the Compressible element will flex when under abnormal load.

2. A gearing comprising a plurality of gear wheels in mesh, one of which comprises a compressible element formed entirely of non-metallio' material and held between plates, a small amount of the radial edges of the teeth of one of said gear wheels being removed so that such edges are normally not- 10 in contact With the teeth of the other gear Wheel or wheels, the amount removed being less than that which the compressible element will flex when under abnormal load.

- In witness whereof, I have hereunto set 15 my hand this 12th day of December, 1916.

EMILE J. 'GUAY. 

